Corn Snake Breeding Question

[Jay_Bunny]

I paired my male hypo with my snow female in the fall. I did not see any action between them and eventually decided to pull the male and put some more weight on him before attempting again. But I was wondering, when corn snakes breed the locks are very quick, right? So for all I know they could have locked (though for some reason I really feel like they didn't)

The snow female has never refused a meal and is still eating one large mouse a week. I have not weighed her recently. How would you know if a corn snake is gravid? With a ball python its easy. You see the ovulation or building and you wait for the shed cycle and so on. But how would you know a corn is going to lay? Is there a corn snake breeding guide that might have pictures?

[Jay_Bunny]

Actually I took some pictures of my male because I'm starting to think he might not be a hypo after all. I got pictures of his color (though he is far more orange in person) and his belly pattern. I'm uploading pictures of both the male and the female and I got current weights on them.

Snow Female - 430g
Male - 263g

[Jay_Bunny]

Female Snow:



Male:

Overview


Close up


Belly shot


I'm really beginning to think he is a normal

[Blue Apple Herps]

It's probably still too soon to be pairing unless you've brumated. And you can see the lock pretty soon, usually within half an hour if they're going to do it. And you'll see the female slowly get a large bulge slowly take over her lower 2/3 of her body.

And your male doesn't look hypo to me either.

[Jay_Bunny]

He was sold to me as a hypo (Pet store) but after looking at him for a while, I'm pretty convinced he's not. That's what I get for not buying from a reputable breeder I guess. I did not technically brumate them as there is no way for me to do so. I read that in order to brumate, you have to take them down to a really chilly temp. I think I read it was 55 or 60, I can't remember which and there is no physical way for me to get them to that temperature.

Would it be possible to "brumate" them at room temperature (70-72)?

[Rorschach]

Your female could be my males twin!

[Blue Apple Herps]

That's not really an ideal temp for a true brumation. You could try giving them a dark cycle for two months. That would probably help. But they're fairly prolific breeders and should go for you. I'd wait until end of March/early April and if/when the female sheds in the window, start pairing after she sheds.

[mason]

as blue apple has said if you observe your corns when you pair them up you normally see some sort of mating actiuvity straight away, females will kind of dance/shuffle about and the male with chase them. Thats if you don't get a lock immediately.you can normally tell within 30-60 mins of the introduction wether or not the pair will mate.

The easiest way to tell if a corn is gravid (if its not obvious immediately) is to gently remove her from her enclosure (for a short time only) and hold her up. If you hold the snake flat and level at your eye level you can normally see slight bulges or ripples in her belly towards the lower third. I.e. eggs.